A watershed moment for Obama on climate change

[Willinois]

This essay by leading climate change activist Bill McKibben was published yesterday in the Washington Post.

McKibben and others have successfully made the Keystone XL pipeline the top issue of the moment in the environmental movement. There's tremendous attention to the project that would transport Canada tar sands oil and the pressure will only grow.

Obama is already the most accomplished clean energy President in American history by far. But, all of his accomplishments will be overshadowed if this pipeline is approved. The way it was mishandled by the Secretary of State's office, including Clinton's dismissive comment that it was likely to be approved even before doing an environmental impact study, is already a blotch on the administration. But, now it's up to Obama.

Quote:That’s because, for once, the president will get to make an important call all by himself. He has to sign a certificate of national interest before the border-crossing pipeline can be built. Under the relevant statutes, Congress is not involved, so he doesn’t need to stand up to the global-warming deniers calling the shots in the House.

But the president does need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry, which has done its best to influence the decision. Since the State Department plays a role in recommending a decision, the main pipeline company helpfully hired the former national deputy director of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign as its lead lobbyist. WikiLeaks documents emerged recently showing U.S. envoys conspiring with the oil industry to win favorable media coverage for tar sands oil. If you were a cynic, you’d say the fix was in.

Still, the final call rests with Barack Obama, who said the night that he clinched the Democratic nomination in June 2008 that his ascension would mark “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Now he gets a chance to prove that he meant it. In basketball terms, he’s alone at the top of the key — will he take the 20-foot jumper or pass the ball? It’s a rare, character-defining moment. Obama can’t escape it simply by saying that someone else will burn the oil if we don’t. Alberta is remote, and its only other possible pipeline route — to the Pacific and hence Asia — is tangled in litigation. That’s why the province’s energy minister told Canada’s Globe and Mail last month that without the Keystone pipeline Alberta would be “landlocked in bitumen,” the technical name for the heavy, gooey tar that is its chief export. Critics may argue otherwise, but Obama’s call is key; without it, that oil will stay in the ground for at least a while longer. Long enough, perhaps, that the planet will come fully to its senses about climate change.

I'm not sure people realize what a political disaster it will be if Obama approves this pipeline. Climate change is a top issue among many young people and his decision won't be forgotten by 2012. It could jeopardize the generational shift toward the Democratic Party and send more young people to become Greens or independents the way Bill Clinton had by 2000.

[Cha]

When does he have to make this decision? I hoping this Civil Disobedience in D.C. will definitely show him what's at stake. I know he has a lot on his plate but this is paramount..what a fight this will be. And, of course, hamsher has herself all of a sudden screeching right in the middle of it.

I'm glad you mentioned that President Obama has been the most Environmentally Conscious President so far..I didn't see it in the essay. You know the m$m doesn't report on it.

I like this.. "Hence the buttons. Many of us will be wearing them while we sit outside his house, in an effort to show that we’re not, exactly, protesting. We’re trying to rekindle some of that passion from his groundbreaking campaign. We’re trying to remind ourselves and the president how good it felt to be full of hope."

That's the way to do it.

[Willinois]

(08-22-2011 12:22 AM)Cha Wrote:  When does he have to make this decision? I hoping this Civil Disobedience in D.C. will definitely show him what's at stake. I know he has a lot on his plate but this is paramount..what a fight this will be. And, of course, hamsher has herself all of a sudden screeching right in the middle of it.

I'm glad you mentioned that President Obama has been the most Environmentally Conscious President so far..I didn't see it in the essay. You know the m$m doesn't report on it.

The State Department will release its environmental analysis at the end of the month. Then Obama will have 90 days to decide.

I think Bill McKibben should give Obama a little more credit than he does. But, I know he pushes because he strongly believes that we need to do far more. He sticks to the facts and doesn't turn everything into an excuse to attack Obama. It makes sense to focus on this issue since Obama can make the decision without Congress getting in the way and it will be a major failure if the pipeline is approved.

I hope other progressive leaders see that the Keystone pipeline protests are working because they're staying focused on the issue and toning down the anti-Obama rhetoric. All the "Where's the hope and change?!?1!" attacks only turn off Obama supporters and distract from the real issue.

[Cha]

Thanks, Will. I hope people like Bill McKibben, Mark Ruffalo, and all those who are using this focused, respectful approach to civil disobedience will be successful for our Planet.